Back to School... Pursuing higher education is stressful, but sometimes, it’s a plunge you just have to take – whether it’s to finish something you started years ago and finally get that degree, or as a means to break through a salary ceiling and provide stability and a more comfortable lifestyle for your family. It [Read more...]

You walk into my office thinking I’m the expert. You glance at my diplomas, license, and certificates. While yes, I am the therapist; you are the expert of your own life. My job is to facilitate awareness as we dismantle mistaken beliefs you’ve developed, to empower you to gain control over your life, and to [Read more...]

Is the Honeymoon Period a Real Thing? The biggest early obstacle to any relationship is one that few ever see coming: the dreaded end of the Honeymoon Period. The initial magic starts to fade, the rush you got when your partner entered the room disappears, and everything just seems less exciting. When you're caught up [Read more...]

One big factor that drives couples to seek counseling is the disappointment they feel in how their relationship has developed over the years. They enter the relationship with certain expectations and goals in mind. As they find themselves drifting farther away from what they believed the relationship would be like, a sense of frustration arises. [Read more...]

“I feel so disconnected from my partner.” “We have different lives, like passing ships.” “It’s like we’re not even married anymore; we’re just roommates.” I hear these difficult words all too frequently in my work with couples. It is heart-breaking to realize the distance that has grown in your relationship after going through so [Read more...]

If you are new to this blog, we are following along what Philip J. Guerin, Jr. Leo F. Fay, Susan L. Burden, and Judith Gilbert Kautto wrote about in The Evaluation and Treatment of Marital Conflict. Family system factors, marital dyad factors, and triangle factors that impact marital conflict have been addressed in my [Read more...]

Marriage is a challenging journey all on its own. When you add long-distance into the mix, you may find yourself up against some real "make it or break it" scenarios. Is your spouse in the military? Does your spouse travel frequently for work? How about pursuing a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ dream this summer? Whatever the reason, there [Read more...]

Today, we will continue the series on the evaluation and treatment of marital conflict examining another part of the marital dyad. Triangles, a term coined by Murray Bowen, refers to the idea that a two-person emotional system is unstable. When under stress, partners tend to draw in a third party to stabilize the relationship. Meaning, [Read more...]

You’re an introvert, they’re an extrovert. You need quiet when you first wake up, they need loud audio stimulation. Your idea of a date night is a quiet evening, their idea is a night on the town. I often see opposites attracted to each other. Someone quick to anger is paired with someone who stays [Read more...]